


Interlude: Is it too late?

by hyperionnebulae



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's, Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga), Yu-Gi-Oh! GX
Genre: Crossover, F/M, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, References to Depression
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-26
Updated: 2019-05-26
Packaged: 2020-03-17 15:20:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,194
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18967915
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hyperionnebulae/pseuds/hyperionnebulae
Summary: A bit of a ventfic of conversations between characters in Duel Monsters, GX, and 5D's. Unnecessary apologies. Soft acceptance.





	Interlude: Is it too late?

 

“I’m sorry.”

-

“I’m sorry.”

-

“I’m sorry.”

Yugi turned back before exiting the classroom. “...what?”

Ryou clenched his fists and tried hard to meet his eyes. Now was the moment; they were alone and there would never be a chance to-

“I wasn’t strong enough to stop him.”

-

“I wasn’t strong enough to stop myself.”

Jun wasn’t a man of apologies; he’d never gotten any, growing up, and he never expected them, from anybody else. Life was just like that, unfair. It didn’t matter how hard you tried some people weren’t meant to be the best they just-

“I let everyone down including you.”

-

“I let everyone down including you.”

Carly couldn’t even look at Jack as she said it. She could feel the tears welling up behind her glasses and there was no way to stop it. She worked so hard. She worked overtime. She didn’t even get paid for overtime. She refused to get paid for most of what she knew even. It was just protecting his privacy was more important and it didn’t matter if she got left behind, not really. She just wished he could be-

-

“He could be very persistent at times but I feel like if I had just tried harder...” Ryou continued.

-

“If I just tried harder, I could’ve been the sort of friend you deserve.”

Judai’s eyes raised slightly at this. Jun wasn’t sure what that meant. Was it proof that he had really let him down? Was it surprise that he was it admitting it or was it that… word? He decided to continue while he still had this sort of momentum going.

“Because you deserve to be around people who try as hard as you do. You deserve… to keep on having fun. That’s what you want right? To have fun? And everyone always expects so gosh darn much of you in every duel. I want to help you get there.”

-

Carly started shaking as she managed to ramble out, “I wanted to help you get there, to the top of the dueling world, because then maybe you can rest and just enjoy other things. But I’m just… an ordinary, forgettable person. And I’m stuck in a pattern that I can’t break from.”

-

“I can’t break from the habits that I developed while he was in my head, and I can’t take back all of the horrible things he did! And I couldn’t stop it… I couldn’t… He hurt everyone! I hurt everyone! I hurt you, and Anzu, and Honda, and Jounouchi and-”

-

“And I don’t know how to apologise! I don’t have the words! I don’t…”

Jun punched the school wall to the left of him that he’d been previously leaning on for support. It didn’t even hurt like it should. It barely made a sound. He sighed and looked back at Judai.

“I don’t even know if I can, now.”

-

“I don’t even know if this makes any sense. Like… I thought I was getting my big break, helping out and being around all these big names. I thought finally the overtime, and getting stiffed on salary, and all hours and hours processing pictures would finally pay off… And then I…”

Carly seemed to visibly droop under the pressure to say, “And then I... died.”

-

“And then he died! I didn’t even know the Thief meant so much to me. I didn’t know I’d be lost in this empty, useless carcass without that voice in my brain? The voice that told me to do all these ruthless, awful things. But it was another voice. Another someone to make me feel less trapped in my own thoughts and my own conditioned social niceties. So I have to ask myself if I really fought against it like I tell myself sometimes or if I just gave in and let it happen.”

-

“And I just gave in and let it happen because I didn’t expect to come back as a Dark Signer. I didn’t expect you to care when I was just another forgettable fangirl, never destined to live any of her childhood dreams.”

-

“I never had any childhood dreams! Dreams were not allowed if I wanted to live up to pure excellence! I just had to pick something and acquire so much power in it as to spread the family influence.”

Jun spit over his shoulder at the ground.

“Not that I knew what a family was anyways. You were the first person who saw me as anything other than a means to an end.”

-

“You were the first one who saw me as a friend worth fighting for, Yugi. I’m just so sorry I couldn’t live up to your expectations.”

-

“I’m sorry I’m not anyone worth remembering, Jack.”

Carly finally managed to peel her eyes from her shoes to look up for his reaction. She visibly flinched at the determination and subtle anger she saw there.

“Carly… who told you that you aren’t worth remembering?”

-

“I think I understand what you are trying to say, Jun. I’m sorry that no one was around back then to help you understand what healthy relationships look like. Including healthy relationships with yourself. And look, I know I am probably not the best example of sane but sometimes you just can’t be okay.”

-

“Sometimes you can’t be okay, Ryou. No one has any right to expect you to be all the time. Least of all yourself. You don’t have to apologise to me for any of it, I promise.”

“But I wasn’t… strong enough.”

-

“I wasn’t strong enough to help you when you needed it! Society of Light. Yubel. The embodiment of Darkness, HIMSELF! I mostly just got in the way!”

-

“I mostly just got in the way of you helping your friends, Jack. I don’t want to do that anymore.”

-

“I couldn’t fight him anymore, Yugi. And now that he’s gone… I can’t even fight for you now...”

“Stop.”

-

“Stop it, Carly. You want me to admit it then fine. You should know you are important enough to not be forgotten by me. Ever. I actually thoroughly enjoy having you around. I PLAN on having you around for a long time. Now I don’t know how to be cheery and encouraging, because that’s sort of your thing, but you should know that I want you to be happy.”

-

“I want you to be happy, Jun. I don’t care about the rest of that! It’s the past now. We all did dumb shit in the past! We all have our demons that we need to live with but really… it’s okay.”

“What do you mean ‘okay’?”

Judai took a deep breath and calmly made eye contact with Manjoume. “I mean it’s okay make mistakes. It’s okay to still hurt from them. It’s okay to not be okay.”

-

“It’s okay to not be okay right now, Ryou. Not everything is going to fix itself and not everything will go back as it was. But hey, you’re alive and we are friends and that’s amazing all in of itself.”

“Is it?”

-

“Is it?”

-

“You do?”

Jack walked over and wrapped up the small woman in his arms. “Yes.”

-

“Yes.”

-

“Always.”


End file.
